To Have and To Hold
by KleopatraAlexandria
Summary: After the death of Neal, the occupants of Storybrooke are left to grieve. But the peace doesn't last long as a new threat has emerged even as the town struggles to deal with the Wicked Witch. Somehow, someway, a new Dark One has emerged and will stop at nothing to have what he desires: Emma. Just who is he and how does he fit into the giant puzzle that is Storybrooke?
1. The New Dark One

To Have and To Hold

Chapter One: The New Dark One

"So let me get this straight," the former Evil Queen interrupted for the fifth time. "Your daggar just crumbled?"

Rumpelstiltskin was normally a very patient man, when he needed to be. However, with the recent events, namely the death of the very son he had created the entire curse for and being held captive by a crazy green witch from Oz, his patients was about as thick as a thread of spider's thread. If Belle hadn't been sitting next to him, Emma was sure the (former?) Dark One would have fried his former student.

"It's that what I have said for the last ten minutes?" Gold questioned in a sharp, biting tone.

Regina glared and would have retorted if her step daughter hadn't stopped her first. "Why don't you start from the very beginning? Preferably _without_ interruption," Snow White said; the last part of her statement being directed at Regina.

Gold nodded. "I was in the holding cell that Zelena kept me in when, like usual, the green witch decided she wanted to gloat about her plans." Gold paused, his jaw working feverously, his anger as clear as a blue sky on a cloudless day. "This time she decided to taunt me about Bae and his. . . death. After she gloated for a good forty-five minutes, she decided she was bored and ordered me to go and kill. . ."

Belle reached over and laid her hand across Gold's. She gave him a smile before motioning for him to continue.

Gold sighed heavily. "She ordered me to kill Belle, saying that since my son had died, Belle was the only one holding me back from joining her."

Emma snorted in a very unlady-like manner. "Is she stupid or something?"

Gold's lips curved into a thin line, his smile not reaching his eyes. "When she gave me the order, I felt the weight of it for a very brief, agonizing moment before Zelena began to shout. The weight of the order vanished and that was when I realized so had the powers of the Dark One. When I finally turned my attention to my capture, the Kris Dagger had completely turned to dust. After she realized that she couldn't hold me anymore, the coward ran as fast as her high-heeled feet would let her."

Snow's expression mirrored her husband's; a look of complete confusion. "Then how did you manage to use magic?"

Gold snickered. "Magic doesn't disappear. Even if my powers started out as those of the Dark One, three centuries of learning is bound to produce some sort of result. I have a power of my own but it isn't as strong as the Dark One's magic, or as easily accessible."

Emma thought for a moment. "Then is the Dark One gone forever?"

Gold sighed again, his years seeming to catch up with him in a matter of seconds. "That I am not sure of , dearie. A magic like that doesn't simple vanish. In theory, the dagger and the powers should have remained with me until the moment someone stabbed me with the dagger. For the dagger to just disappear along with the powers, even I cannot answer that."

"We need to get to the bottom of this. We don't need my _dear sister_" Regina spat, "to figure something out before us."

"For once, I agree with Regina" Snow said before turning to look at the older woman. "No offense."

Regina shrugged. "None taken."

Emma shook her head. "I need some fresh air," she breathed as she stood up from her desk chair. She looked over at her son. "Don't wander off, alright kid?"

Henry nodded, having enough decency to look guilty.

"Don't forget to take your gun," Charming commented as she walked out the front of the sheriff's station.

The daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming simple help up her handheld for them to see before continuing on her way. The cool, crisp autumn air contrasted sharply to the humid, tense air of the room she had previously occupied. It was a welcomed change, especially after the craziness of the Wicked Witch of the West and her poop-throwing pet flying monkeys. Luckily for the group, Henry had accidently found his old storybook while helping Snow (whom he thought was Mary Margret at the time) with clearing out her closet. Being almost nine months pregnant made it really difficult to clean anything. Henry's memories returned, something that overjoyed and saddened Emma at the same time. Overjoyed, because her son could finally go back to the way he had been before, as well as the rest of the town, now that they didn't have to hide their connection with the teen. Saddened because Henry could now remember the man they had all buried just a week ago.

_Now you'll never get you happy ending_, her thoughts taunted.

Emma shook her head, tossing away the traitorous thoughts. Whatever she had had before had died with Neal. It didn't do her any good to dwell on the past. The past only contained painful memories; both of recent events and older ones. Emma was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice the person staring at her until she was within ten feet of them. Within a second, her gun was in her hand a pointed at the person standing in the shadows. The light of the street lamp was centered on her like a spot light might be centered on a lead actress.

"What the hell?" Emma blurted out as she realized what she was staring at.

The person in the shadows was definitely male but that was the only thing the savior of Storybrook could say about him. He was dressed in what appeared to be black clothing that was a mix of a fashion from the Enchanted Forest and the Land Without Magic. The most visibly thing about him was the bone white mask he was wearing that covered the top half of his face, leaving only his dark eyes showing. Something silver flashed into Emma's line of vision before her eyes darted to the object in his hand. She had only seen the Kris Dagger a handful of times but the curving, sharp blade was easy to recognize. Unfortunately, the blank side of the dagger was facing her, keeping her from figuring out his name.

"Put your hands where I can see them," she ordered, her hair blowing in the cold autumn breeze.

Instead of heeding her order, the new Dark One simply took a step forward, his profile entering the dim light of the street lamp. His clothing wasn't black like she had originally thought. Dark greens and browns made up most of the outfit but his mask was the exact same shade that she imagined it to be. The white contrasted with the darkness of his clothing and eyes, reminding Emma exactly who she was dealing with.

"If you don't stop, I am going to shoot!" Emma stated, trying to keep her hands steady. Gold, she could deal with but a new, unknown enemy who suddenly possessed the seemingly unlimited powers of the Dark One was not someone Emma wanted to mess with.

The person stopped, slowly tilting their head to the side in an extremely creepy manner. All the crazy scary movies she had seen in her life pale in comparison to the man standing before her. A smirk slowly spread across his face and in that moment, Emma knew; she knew that this was someone she had meet before, someone she knew but she couldn't put her finger on who. It was like trying to catch water with a cup that was filled with holes; his identity completely escaped her. And that scared her.

The man continued forward in an extremely slow manner. Emma started to back up but froze when an arm wound its way around her waist. The hand that held her gun fell uselessly to her side. Whoever this man was, he was able to so easily draw her in and he definitely wasn't letting go. Emma inhaled a shaky breathe was the smirk stretched into a grin before the mystery man leaned forward. The gun slipped from her hand and her eyes fell shut as his lips softly brushed hers, almost like a pair of butterfly wings batting against her skin.

"_Emma_," he breathed and she slowly felt herself drifting. . . only to be brought back to reality by a loud and harsh gunshot.

Emma jerked away from the man with enough force to land on her butt. She mentally took inventory, scanning her brain for any sort of pain or wound that the gun shot had left behind. It was only when Charming ran into the lamp's light, his gun leveled at the retreating form of the Dark One that she realized she hadn't been the target. Emma was shaking severely as her father helped her to her feet. She wasn't even aware that she was crying until Charming began to wipe away the tears gently.

"What the _hell_ was that? Who was that guy?" Prince Charming asked in a quiet tone that didn't reach his eyes for once.

"I-I don't know. I was walking, trying to clear my head when he suddenly appeared. I. . . he. . ."

Charming wrapped his daughter in his arms, slowly leading her back to the station.

"How did you find me?" Emma whispered.

Charming's gaze turned to rest on her for a second before returning to the front. "We heard you shouting for someone to freeze. Henry wanted to run out to see what was going on but, as usual, no one would let him. I grabbed my gun and took out the door before anyone could stop me. I expected to see you facing off against Zelena, which I realize now that it probably would have been a better idea for either Regina or Gold to have come out first. What I _didn't_ expect, however, was to see you standing there, lips locked with a complete stranger."

"Then why did you shoot?" Emma asked, her voice growing steadier as she regained her composure.

"When I realized that you were just kind of standing there, not really doing anything. If it was someone you knew, you would have at least done more that _just that_. I realized he, whomever it was, was a threat to you and acted accordingly," Charming explained, his eyes resting once again on his daughter.

"What happened?"

Emma looked up to see her very pregnant mother running her way, which was more of a waddle than an actual run. Snow immediately wrapped her first born in her arms, gently smoothing her hair in a motherly fashion. Emma's face immediately when beat red as she realized everyone was still in the station. They could no doubt see the tears running down her face and the dirt that clung to her jeans where she hit the ground after wrenching herself out of the Dark One's arms.

"I-I'm fine," Emma assured but clearly it wasn't good enough since Henry launched himself into his birth mother's arms, wrapping his around her waist.

"What happened, Ms. Swan?" Gold asked as he hobbled over, leaning heavily on Belle and his cane.

"She probably should sit down first," Regina commented, surprising the occupants of the room. "She looks as if she is about to collapse."

Emma sent her former rival a thankful look before sinking into her comfortable chair that Hook had brought over.

"What happened, love?" Hook asked in a surprisingly gentle tone.

All eyes were on Emma at this point. Her face was entirely red at this point, the full realization of what transpired hitting her like a ton of bricks. She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"I was out walking, clearing my head like I said I was going to." She sighed softly, trying to turn the events that just transpired into words. "I didn't even see hit until he was standing about ten feet from me."

"Who?" Belle asked leaning across her True Love to get a better look at Emma.

Emma swallowed the lump that had appeared suddenly in her throat. "The new Dark One."

"What?" Regina shouted as Gold exclaimed "Who is he?" Both shot the other a look that could have killed anyone else, if they hadn't been the Evil Queen and Rumpelstiltskin. Emma's lip twitched, surprisingly glad that some things didn't change.

"I don't know who he is but he _seems_ familiar. Maybe a former enemy or someone from my past? What I do know is he had the same dagger that crumbled on Zelena just this morning."

"Did you see his name?" Regina asked quickly, looking for something to grasp onto despite the strange events.

Emma shook her head. "He had the side of the blade with his name on it facing away from me. What I do know is that he wears a white mask from here" she pointed to the spot just above her lips "to here," she motioned to the top of her head. "He wears dark clothing in different shades of browns and greens, which is a mix of Land Without Magic and Enchanted Forest fashion. He. . . seemed _extremely_ familiar. He was able to somehow make me drop my guard enough to get close."

"_How_ close?" Hook asked, the tone of his voice indicating that he was clearly not pleased.

"I- he. . . well," Emma began, not really sure what to say. She fidgeted in her seat, not at all comfortable with where the conversation was heading. Luckily, her father took that moment to step in.

"When I came upon them, the Dark One had his arms around Emma and. . ." he paused for a moment, to thank of what to say. "He was almost kissing her, he was that close."

Hook stood up abruptly, causing everyone in the room to jump. "Just who does he think he is? Putting his hands on _my_ girl-"

"I think you need to slow down there," Emma said as she slowly stood up. "I am not _your_ girl."

"Swan-"

"No," Emma cut him off. "I do not belong to anyone. _I_ choose who I want to be with, not you or anyone else. Am I clear?"

"Crystal," Hook agreed.

"As much fun as I am having by watching you torment the pirate, we need to address the matter at hand," Gold said, drawing attention back to him. "There is one thing all of you should know. When a person first comes into contact with the powers of the Dark One, they are mentally unstable. I have first-hand experience of this. A person's judgment becomes clouded by the things they desire. My own goal was to keep my son safe." Gold looked extremely guilty in that moment. "I ended up pushing him away because I left the darkness get the better of me."

"What are you saying, Crocodile?" Hook asked.

Gold met the eyes of everyone in the room before turning his gaze to Emma, his dark eyes staring into hers. "If this new Dark One has formed an obsession with Ms. Swan like I believe he has, we may not be enough to stop him."

"Then what do we do?" Snow asked quietly after an awkward moment of silence.

Gold sighed again, his expression telling all about his dislike for the next words that left his lips. "I think it's time we need to pay a certain fairy a visit."

**I hope you guys enjoy this new story! I have recently discovered the wander that is Once Upon a Time and have been hooked (pun intended). While I like Hook as a character (Colin O'Donoghue is amazing!), I don't really like the way the creators seemed to have pushed Emma and Hook together all of a sudden. **

**Anyways, just let me know what you guys think of this new story. Please note that I have not abandoned any of my other stories. My notes seemed to have mysteriously disappeared, curtsey of my cat named Elsa. She is a trouble-maker, but instead of ice, she leaves the room a mess.**

**As always, please read and review. I hope to see you guys soon.**

**-KleopatraAlexandria**


	2. More Unanswered Questions

To Have and To Hold

Chapter Two: More Unanswered Questions

Emma sat in her usual chair, her hands wrapped around a hot mug of her favorite drink: hot cocoa with cinnamon. Henry had become bored by all the 'adult talk' and Belle decided to take him to the library after stopping at Granny's for some ice cream. Hook had found a blanket sitting in the closet and wrapped it around her shoulders when the situation finally hit her in full. She sat there, shaking for a good thirty minutes before she finally calmed down. By that time, Gold had gotten a hold of Mother Superior, or as she was known in the Enchanted Forest, the Blue Fairy. The oldest being among them looked extremely worried as Gold told her of the dagger crumbling and Emma relayed her tale of what happened less than an hour ago.

"Have you ever heard of this happening before, Blue?" Snow asked, her hand absentmindedly rubbing her stomach.

Blue tiredly shook her head. "I cannot say that I have. In all the years I have been alive, I have _never_ encountered a Dark One who _hasn't_ killed their predecessor." She paused for a moment before turning to Gold. "No one stabbed you with your dagger at all, correct?"

Gold rolled his eyes. "Would I be sitting here if they did? Of course they didn't, dearie. The only person who had contact with my dagger before it crumbled was Zelena and there was most certainly not any males in the vicinity of her house during the time of my capture."

"So we're back to Square One?" Emma asked quietly as she took a sip of her cocoa.

"I guess so," Regina replied as she sat back in her chair.

After a few awkward moments, Charming nervously cleared his throat, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "I'm not sure if it would help any but how was the Dark One first created?"

Snow's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "You think the origins might have the answer?"

Charming shrugged. "Possibly."

"It might be helpful," Gold began, before deadpanning the next part, "but the only thing that is known about the Dark One's origins are the rumors that have been spreading around for centuries, maybe even a few millennia."

"What are some of the rumors?" Emma questioned.

Gold frowned for a moment. "From what I can recall, some people believe that the Dark One was created when an evil Queen crushed the heart of someone she loved but didn't love her in return. That rage that the Queen felt manifested into a dark power that animated the man's corpse. Another story suggests that someone stumbled upon the Vault of the Dark One and opened it, unleashing its powers. Those powers latched onto the only living thing in the area. Another story says that an old man mourned the loss of his daughter and tried to bring her back by dropping her body in the Vault. The power attached itself to the deceased woman and animated her body with dark magic." Gold sighed heavily. "There are more uncompleted stories but those are the only ones that reoccur multiple times."

"Well, shit," Regina cursed as she throw a fireball at the wall, hitting an innocent picture that was hanging there.

"Hey!" Snow shouted.

"Be thankful that is wasn't anyone's face," Regina said as she held her hands up in mock defense, causing Snow to promptly fall quiet.

"We need an attack plan," Hook said for the first time in more than an hour, which Emma thought might be a new personal record.

"We can't attack what we don't know," Regina countered.

"I meant in regards to Swan," Hook said.

Emma frowned. "What about me?"

"Considering you are very likely to be his target?" Hook questioned rhetorically.

"Oh."

"I, for once, have to agree with the pirate. I wouldn't want Bae's spirit to come back a haunt me because I let his True Love get kidnapped by the new Dark One."

If Hook looked offended at Gold's agreement, he look even more so with his comment about Baelfire. "How do you know he was her True Love?"

Gold simply pointed in Emma's direction, more specifically at the necklace she was wearing. "Belle told me that Bae still had that necklace, even when you were all transported back to the Enchanted Forest. In theory, it shouldn't have made the trip, since it was from this world. However, seeing as it is a representation of Bae and Emma's love, their True Love to be exact, it was able to cross the dimensions with him. Only an object given out of true love would be able to cross dimensions twice. Baelfire returned that necklace to Emma the day he passed away."

Blue nodded in agreement, something the occupants of the room found bizarre. "I have to agree with Rumpelstiltskin on the matter. True Love is an extremely powerful magic, especially since Emma herself is a product of True Love. That is probably what makes Henry so special as well. He is also a child of True Love; a second generation, if you will."

"Great, now the fairy believes the Crocodile. Could my day get any worse?" Hook sarcastically asked the ceiling.

Emma's lip twitched at the deadpan response. She was about to comment when Gold's phone went off. Her humor went from minor to uncontrollable as she realized someone had set his ringtone to _A Tale as Old as Time_ from Disney's _Beauty and the Beast_. The culprit was most likely Gold's very own son, before he passed, or Henry. Her laughter was cut short as Gold stood abruptly.

"Tell me where you are?" Gold asked, his voice full of panic. "Ok. We are on our way." He snapped the flip-phone shut. "That was Belle. She said the Wicked Witch has her and Henry trapped in the library."

Emma jumped up with a quickness, grabbing her badge and gun with a quickness. The entire group was out the door in less than a second, heading down the street at full speed.

"There she is," Regina hissed as her eyes locked onto her half-sister's form.

"And she has Henry," Snow breathed as her eyes zeroed in on her own grandson.

The entire group came to a crashing halt as Zelena's grin grew even more in length. Belle was laying on the group less than four feet away from the Wicked Witch, just out of their reach. The beauty appeared to be unconscious and Emma hoped for Zelena's sake that it was just that. Henry stared wide-eyed at the forms of his family. Zelena had a confident smile in place as she tightened her grip on Henry's shoulder.

"Hello, dear sister. I was hoping to see you here," the ginger replied confidently.

"Let my son go-"

"Or what?" Zelena scoffed. "It's not like you can do anything when I have dear old Henry as my hostage." She laughed, a cold and cruel sound. "I believe I have you exactly where I want you."

"What do you want?" Emma asked, her gun level with Zelena's face.

"What I have always wanted." Zelena's face immediately turned sour. "_My_ happy ending."

"Time travel is impossible, Zelena," Gold replied, startling everyone. "You can't get a second chance."

Zelena snorted. "Of course I can. And now, since you are no longer the Dark One, who is there to stop me?"

Regina made a fireball appear in her hand at the very same moment Snow White drew back her loaded bow. Emma's finger tightened just slightly on the trigger of her gun as Charming and Hook leveled their swords at Zelena's face. The green Witch merely laughed.

"How are you going to stop me without hurting your dear Henry?" Zelena taunted, her eyes dancing with laughter.

"Hey Thin Mint!"

Zelena turned, outrage clear across her face before she was knocked clear off her feet, landing more than twenty feet away from her hostage. Henry took that moment to run over to Belle as his mothers ran to his side. The Wicked Witch of the West sat up slowly, her face as red as her hair.

"Who dare to cross me?"

Emma looked up and her eyes immediately zeroed in on the masked figure of the new Dark One. A slightly crazed grin lit the visible portion of his face as he stepped forward into the lamp light.

"Oh, I apologize, _Your Highness_," the man commented with a sarcastic smile and bow. "But you need to realize you cannot touch what is _mine_ without suffering the concequences." At this point, the carefree grin that had graced his face had faded into a frown that sent chills down the spines of everyone who witnessed it.

"And just who the _hell_ are you?" Zelena demanded.

The grin was back in place. "Your worst nightmare."

In the second he finished his sentence, the mystery man was gone and speared right in Zelena's face, his hand wrapping around her throat with enough force to lift her off of the ground.

"Now I am going to say this once and I hope I _do not_ have to repeat myself. Touch my family again, and I will make sure Rumpelstiltskin's wrath looks like a cat fight. You really don't want to cross me," he whispered harshly before dropping Zelena on the cold, hard concrete.

The heroes and villain allies froze when the Dark One turned and began to walk in their direction. Regina created another fireball to throw at the man but was left dumbfounded when he simply grinned and disappeared in a cloud of dark purple smoke. Zelena stood up quickly and disappeared before anyone could react.

"What that the man?" Snow asked in a squeaky voice.

"Uh-huh," Emma nodded.

Snow sighed. "Great. Just what we need. Another lunatic on the loose."

Emma snorted as she continued to check on her son. Belle was beginning to come to as Gold helped her into a sitting position.

"Are you alright, Belle?" the former Dark One asked gently.

Belle gave her True Love a soft smile. "I am now. I was worried what she might do to Henry but I see that you all managed to take her down."

"Actually," Emma began. "It wasn't us that go Henry back. It was the new Dark One."

At the look of confusion on Belle's face, Gold continued Emma's explanation. "It seems that we may have an unknown ally in the form of the new Dark One, whomever he is. He was the one that saved Henry."

"But what I don't understand is why he called Henry his family or what he has to do with Ms. Swan," Regina questioned.

"Maybe he's some nut who has deluded himself into thinking that Emma and Henry belong to him and no one else?" Hook questioned.

"Not likely," Charming countered. "This is the first time you all have seen him, the second time for myself and Emma. We don't know enough about him to be able to conclude anything at this point."

"I agree with Charming on this," Regina commented with a look of disbelief, almost as if she couldn't believe she was saying it. "But I do want to know who he is."

"He may be someone from my past," Emma commented. "Do you remember one of the origin stories?"

"Which one?" Hook asked.

"The one with the Queen." Emma looked over at Regina. "It sounds an awful lot like what happened to Graham."

Regina blanched slightly. "That was more than three years ago. It that was actually how the Dark One was created, wouldn't Gold have lost his powers three years ago instead of now?"

Gold hummed. "It could have to do with the town. Magic works differently here. It could have possibly taken that long to transfer."

"That would explain why he was so familiar," Snow commented. "Graham really cared for Emma and he saw Henry as one of his own."

Emma frowned but didn't comment. The story made sense. The man _did_ seem awfully familiar but not like someone from her past. The familiarity felt recent, but then again that could be from the town's magic, like Gold had suggested. Emma needed answers and she needed them _now_.

**I hope you guys are liking the story thus far. But I have to ask: who many people can guess who the new Dark One is? To answer this, I think I am going to hold a contest. Review for this chapter AND guess who you think he is as well as how and I will dedicate a small one-shot to the person who guesses who it is and gets as close as possibly to HOW he became the Dark One. As always, reviews are welcome but no Flames please. If any flames are left, I will simply use them to fuel my love for OUaT.**

**And another thing: Why do we have to wait for March for the next episode? PM me if you want to chat about the Winter Finale. I need someone besides my own brain to talk to. Until next time!**

**-KleopatraAlexandria**


End file.
